Electric trolling motor for inflatables?

[nutrexercus]

I have a Saturn SK430 Kaboat, which is a 14' inflatable. Up to this point i've been paddling, and have recently been researching Electric Trolling motors. I don't fish, but just want one for recreation and lake exploring. I'm looking to spend less than $200 for one.

So far i've found good reviews about Minn Kota Endura(40 or 50), and for some they appear to be very long lasting and good quality.

Then there's MotorGuide VariMAX (45). It looks like a good motor as well, but it's long term use in question. I couldn't find many reviews on this one.

My questions are:

What are your experiences with the Minn Kota or MotoGuide for your inflatable? Would you recommend one or the other? Or, are there other brands of inexpensive trolling motors I missed?

Do you need to buy a Deep Cycle Battery as well as the trolling motor itself or does it sometimes come with it?

Thanks!

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Electric trolling motor for inflatables?

I'm a die-hard Minnkota fan and will never go back to Motorguide. Just had too many bad experiences with them. Anyway, that is my opinion. And yes you need a deep cycle battery to go with it. They do not come with a battery. The bigger the battery (group size) the longer it will last on an outing. Be sure to recharge it after every use to prolong it's life.

 

[nutrexercus]

Re: Electric trolling motor for inflatables?

What model battery do you get or recommend in particular? I've seen DieHard, Optima Blue top? Wow these are as expensive as the trolling motor alone!

 

[dlindeblad]

Re: Electric trolling motor for inflatables?

The bigger the battery the more expensive, but you do not have to go with those super expensive six pack looking batteries. Take a swing by Walmart and take a look at what they have. $80ish is a good battery.

 

[nutrexercus]

Re: Electric trolling motor for inflatables?

Here's what I came up with for a Trolling motor setup:

minn kota trolling motor 40 thrust@Amazon $179
Evermaxx Deep cycle battery@Walmart $75
minn kota portable charger@Walmart $50
minn kota power center@Amazon $65
Total $369

Will probably have to hold off as I didn't realize how expensive it can get to buy everything at once. And it wouldn't make much sense to buy one thing at a time. In time! Until then, i'll be propelling the boat myself. Thanks for all of your input!

 

[Ducati John]

Re: Electric trolling motor for inflatables?

35 years ago I had an 11' Sevylor powered by a 24 lb Min Kota. I took that rubber boat everywhere, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay and Lake Tahoe. In fact one time I brought a friend and we launched it on the sand at Santa Cruz, Ca. and went out to do a little fishing there. In the meantime the surf picked up and as we were trying to come in we were turned sideways and dumped over in a wave. Needless to say we lost just about everything. My point is I had a blast with the above electric motor, eventhough it was only 24 lbs of thrust. My only complaint was the boat was too slow. Nowadays I think with the thrust figures you can almost ski behind compared to what we had.